ESEA Reauthorization

ESSA Resources

On December 10, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that replaced No Child Left Behind as our main federal education law. See below for Coalition updates and coverage on the law and what it means for community schools.

ESSA Commentary:Our director, Martin Blank, has released an ESSA commentary in the Washington Post, entitled, "Is a new day dawning with No Child Left Behind's successor law?" The blog discusses ways we can move forward with the bill, and provide new direction for our schools.ESSA FAQS: The Department of Ed has posted a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on their website concerning the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that can help you learn more about ESSA and answer any general questions you may have.

The U.S. Department of Education released non-regulatory guidance to help ensure young children from birth through third-grade get the strong start they need to achieve success in school and in life. The guidance suggests full-service community schools as a strategy as it often relies on early-childhood and pre-school providers as strong partners. You can read the full guidance here.

Coalition’s Title I Comments to ED:On January 21 the Coalition submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in response to their request for comments on Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Over 200 individuals or organizations have commented, and you can read the comments here.

Our comments seek to strengthen through regulations the following areas in Title I that are key to community schools:

On January 11 the Coalition shared our draft of these comments at the U.S. Department of Education along with other advocates and partners. Read our draft comments here. ED’s website on all things ESSA, including a recording of the public hearings on Title I that took place in D.C. (where CCS commented) and L.A. can be found here.

Huffington Post Commentary: Mary Kingston Roche, Director of Public Policy, wrote a blog on how the Every Student Succeeds Act is an opportunity to step up together and districts like Oakland are showing us how.